Ada Blackjack

by Jennifer Niven

So this wasn't the most compellingly written nonfiction ever but the subject was fresh and the research thorough.

The story follows a polar expedition closed to the turn of the century, one that came a bit late in the explorer game, so the riches and fame weren't quite as heady. A key plot point is the fact that the organizer/main explorer did not even go on the trip, which was to Wrangle Island in the Bering Sea.

Instead he recruited a team (mostly inexperienced), raised money (not enough) and outfitted (poorly) the team, which included a single Inuit woman, Ada Blackjack.

Educated but abandoned by her husband and desperate for money to support her son, Ada joins the team as a seamstress/cook. She knows little about living in the wild, having been raised in the city.

So of course, mishaps and misadventures mean Ada has to survive on her own and the story is told very carefully and without drama (except the actual drama taking place). I've read little about explorers so if nothing else it was interesting on that level.